Air circulator



Nov. 21, 1944. J. w. MILLER AIR CIRCULAIOR Filed Feb. 23, 1942 3 SheetsF-Shet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR. JOHNW MILIIR. 6 M4 ATTURMEK Nov. 21, 1944'.

a. w. MILLER AIR CIRCULATOR .Filed Feb. 23,1942

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN'iOR. JOHN W. MILLER;

Nov. 21.; 1944. J. w. MILLER 2,363,191

AIR GIRCULATOR Filed Feb. 2:5, 1942 s Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGB INVENTOR. "JOHN W.M|LLER.

. p a/K 7km ATTORAEY so constructed and arranged that by rotation of I l the casing in the same position as that shown I Patented Nov. '21, 1944 V AIR QIRCULATOR John W.- Miller, Lansing, Mich, assignor to Motor Wheel Corporation notation of Michigan Lansing, Mich a cor- Application aw 23, 1942, Serial No. 431,991

' 4 Claims. ((1230-42) This invention relates to forced air circulators, particularly those suitable for use with heating systems.

It is common practice to equip heating systems with some means, such as a fan, for positively circulating air through the system. Frequently it is desirable to beable to reverse the direction of flow of the air through the system. It is not practical to provide a reversible motor and fan, because reversible motors are relatively expensive and reversible fans are relatively inefiicient.

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide an air circulating unit having a rotary fan therein which operates in but one direction, and in which provision is made for reversing the direction of flow of the air through the unit.

Another object is to provide an air circulating unit including a fan and a rotatable fan casing the casingthrough a predetermined angle the direction of flow of air through the unit can be reversed. a

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel form ofhousing for a rotatable 2 fan casing which together comprise a reversible air circulating unit.

For a more complete ,disclosure of the invention reference is made to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein- 30 Figure 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a house trailer having a heating system embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line 2-2 of Figure 1; 35

stantially the line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3 andshowing the fan casing in another of its two positions;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line 6-6 of Figure 3 and showing in Figure '7;

,Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the fan casing taken on substantially the line 9-9 of Fi ure Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the fan opening 3| casing taken on substantially the line Ill-4d o! Figure 7; and

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a portion of a house showing the invention em- Jployed in connection with a heating system for tion with an oil burning heater for heating a house trailer. The trailer is of conventional construction and comprises a floor, side walls and a roof. The'floor includes upper and lower flooring Iii and ii, respectively, spaced apart and 15 supported by joists i2. Certain of the joists are provided with openings it for the passage of air therethrough. Spaced apart openings M and is are formed in the upper flooring Ml. Preferably the opening i5 is furnished with a register which 29 can be opened or closed.

. Mounted over the opening at in the floor is an air circulating unit l6 on top of which the heater i1 is placed. The. air circulating unit in general comprises a housing having a circulating 5 fan 49 therein, and in which provision is made for reversing the direction of flow of the air.

- The air circulating unit constitutes the present invention and will be more fully described "presently.

The heater I! is of'conventional construction and embodies an outer casing having a side wall l8, a bottom wall l9 and a top wall 20. The central part of the bottom wall is imperforate, but adjacent the perimeter of the bottom wall a permit the passage of plurality of openings 2| are provided. The top 22 in the lower part of which is an oil burner 23 of the vaporizing pot type. Air is admitted to the burner through a duct 24 and exhaust gases escape through a chimney 25. Fuel oil is fed from a suitable source of supply to the burner through the pipe 26.. The air circulating unit which constitutes the ase for the heater is shown more in detail in Figures 3 to 10. In general. the unit comprises ahousing of box shape, partition or baiiie means including two plates 38 and 39 and a fan casing 40 dividing the housing into two compartments, and a fan I! in the casing for drawingair from one compartment and discharging it into the other compartment.

The housingis made up of imperforate upright side walls 21 and 28, a front wall 29 having an therein, and an imperforate rear wall 33. These walls are all made of sheet metal. The top and bottom ends of the housing are open. The side walls 21 and 28 are flanged at their upright edges to overlap the front and rear walls and are secured to the latter by screws 54. The side wallsll and 23are indented at, 32 to provide cylindrical shoulders or bearings for a purpose which will appear presently. I Partitions 38 and 39 together with casing divide the housing into upper and lower compartments, A and B respectively. Preferably the partitions 38 and 39 are formed integrally with the front and rear walls 29 and 30 respectively,

- and extend from one side wall 2lto'the other side wall 28. The two partitions extend generally diagonally of the housing. The fan casing 40 completely fills the space between the two part1- .tions 38 and 39. The open ends of the cylindrical casing 40 receive the cylindrical projections 32 on the end walls and the casing is rotatably mounted thereon. Thus, theend walls close the opposite'ends of casing 40. .A'knob4l located within the compartment A and adjacent the opening 3| in the 'front wall i provided for rotating thejcasing. A stop 42 at another point on 3 air outlet aperture 44.

' less of the position of casing 40.

the casing-is also provided.

The fan casing 40 forms a passageway for air between the compartments A and B. The casing provided adjacent one end thereof with a relatively large rectangular air inlet aperture 43. Adjacent the other end of the casing is a similar circumferentially spaced substantially 180 degrees from the aperture 43. Located between the apertures 43 and 44 and extending radially of the gal fan 49. The fan is radially aligned with the The latter aperture is' placed over the opening to break up and deflect the air stream passing through the opening 3|.

Coming now to the operationof the circulator, it will be apparent that the direction of the flow of air through the fan casing 40 is always the same, that is, from the inlet aperture 43 .through the orifice in the plate 45 and out through the outlet aperture 44 in the casing and the inlet end of the fan is positioned adjacent and axially aligned with the opening in the plate 45.

Within the fan chamber is a cut off plate 50 which cooperates with the fan 49 in a well known manner to efiect a discharge of air through opening 44. The cut oil plate is secured to the casing so that its relationship to the fan and opening 44, as shown in Figure 5, is preserved regard- The cut ofl plate extends axially from one end of the fan chamber to. the other, i. e., from wall 21 to partition 45.

A rotatable cover 33 is provided for the opening 3| in front wall 29. The cover is formed of sheet metal and is of circular shape. It is rotatably mounted about a central axis placed adjacent one apex of thetriangular opening 3|. The cover-33 has three sectors 34, 35 and 36 of substantially equal area. An opening is provided in the sector 34 of substantially the same area as the area of opening 3|. Sector 36 is provided with a plurality of louvres 31, and sector 35 is imperforate. It will be seen that by rotating the cover to any one of'three difierent positions the opening 3| can be left completely open to permit access to the interior of .the housing; it can be completely closed; or the louvres 31 can die outlet aperture 44. See Figures 9 and 10, wherein .the arrow indicates the direction of flow of the air. The direction of the flow of air through the housing of the unit can rbereversed, however, by rotating the fan casing on the bearings 32, so as to position the air inlet aperture 43 in one compartment and the outlet aperture in the other compartment, or vice versa. Thus, when the casing 4|lis in the position shown in Figures 5, 6

and 9, inletaperture 43 is in communication with compartment B and outlet aperture 44 is in communication with compartment-A. The airthen flows from compartment B to compartment A, as indicated by the arrows.

, On the other hand, by reaching into the housing through opening 3 grasping knob 4| and rotating the casing 40 until stop 42 strikes plate 38, aperture 43 is put into communication with compartment A and aperture 44 into communicationwith the space between the wall l8 and shell 22 of the heater through the openings 2|. The bottom compartment A of the housing opens into the space between the upper and lower floorings l0 and II through the opening 4. Compartment A can be opened directly into the room, if desired, by rotating the cover 33 to position either the open sector 34 or the louvered sector 36 over the opening 3|. Preferably the register I5 is closed at the same time.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the fan casing 40 is positioned as shown in Figures 7, 8 and 10, air can be drawn into the compartment A, either through register l5 and the bottom of the housing, or through opening 3|, or both, and discharged upwardly, through the heater. The solid arrows in Figure 1 indicate in a general way the paths of the air. On

the other hand, when. the fan casing is rotated to the position of Figures 5, 6 and 9, air will be drawn from the heater into compartment B through openings 2| and discharged through opening 3!, or register l5, or both, as indicated by the dotted arrows. I Thus, the air can be drawn from the upper part of the trailer and discharged along, or through, the floor, or drawn from above or below the floor or both and discharged toward the ceiling. This arrangement provides for variation in the air circulation according to the individual desires of the owner.

Figure 11 discloses the use of the air circulating unit in connection with a 'furnace for heating a home. The furnace 54, shown in Figure 11, is of conventional construction, and is provided with one or more outlet ducts 5| and return ducts 52. Return duct 52 is connected to the compartment B of the air circulator, and the compartment A is placed in communication with the air jacket of the furnace 54. Of course, when the air circulator is mounted at one side of the fumace rather than beneath it, the top of the housing is closed by a top wall 53. Aside from the differences in location and connection to the furnace, the device operates in a manner similar to that disclosed in connection with the trailer heater. By rotating the fan casing to one position air is drawn through the return duct 52 and discharged through the outlet or warm air duct as indicated by the solid arrows. Rotating the casing to the other position will reverse the flow of air as indicated by the dotted arrows.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that this,

invention provides a novel air circulator employing a highly efiicient fan and in which provision is made for reversing the direction of flow of air through the unit and its associated heater without reversing the direction of flow of air through the fan itself. The unit is of simple construction, is exceedingly compact, and is easily manufactured.

The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An air circulating unit comprising a housing having two spaced apart openings therein, baflle means in said housing between said openings dividing the housing into two compartments each of which communicates with one of said openings,

A said baflle means including a cylindrical fan casthe positions of said inlet and,outlet apertures relative to said compartments and thereby reverse the direction of flow of air between said compartments.

2. An air circulating unit comprising a housing having two spaced apart openings therein, bai'lie means in said housing between said openings dividing the housing into two compartments each of which communicates with one of said openings, said bailie means including a cylindrical fan casing having an inlet. aperture. in theside wall thereof adjacent one end communicating with one compartment and an outlet aperturein the side wall thereof adjacent the other end communicating with the other compartment, said inlet and outlet apertures being spaced apart circumferentially of the casing and constituting the only openings of substantial size in said baffle means, a plate having a central orifice therein extending transversely of the casing intermediate the apertures in the casing, a centrifugal fan in said casing in registry with said outlet aperture and having its inlet adjacent the orifice in said plate for circulating air from one compartment to the other through said casing, said casing being rotatable to interchange the positions of said inlet and outlet apertures relative to said compartments and thereby reverse the direction of flow of air between said compartments.

3. An air circulating unit comprising a housing, two opposite walls of said housing being formed to provide bearings to receive the ends of a rotatable fan casing, said housing having two spaced apart openings therein, baflle means in said housing between said openin s dividing the housing into two compartments each of which communicates with one of said openings, said baiile means including a cylindrical fan casing having an inlet aperture ln a side wall thereof adjacent one end communicating with one compartment and an .outlet aperture in the side wall thereof adjacent the other end communicating with the other compartment, said inlet and outlet apertures being spaced apart circumferentially of the. casing and constituting the only openings in said casing, and a. fan in said casing for circulating air from one compartment to the other through said casing, the ends of said casing being rotatably mounted on said bearings whereby the positions of said inlet and outlet apertures relative to said compartments may be interchanged to reverse the direction of flow of air between said compartments.

4. An air circulating unit comprising a housing having two spaced apartopenings therein, bailie means in said housing between said openings dividing the housing into two compartments, each of which communicates with one of said openings, said baflle means including a fan casing having an inlet aperture in the side wall thereof adjacent one end communicating with one compartment and an outlet aperture in the side wall thereof adjacent the other end communicating with the other compartment, said inlet and outlet apertures being spaced apart circumferentially of the casing, a fan in said casing for circulating air from one compartment to the other through said casing, said casing comprising a cylindrical tube having open ends mounted on opposite walls of said housing in substantially airtight engagement therewith, said tube being rotatable relative to said walls to interchange the positions of said inlet and outlet apertures relative to said compartments and thereby reverse the direction of flow of air between said! compartments.

JOHN w. mum. 

